OPINION | Dear BCSS: Don’t Cancel High School Gymnastics

Photo Credit: Melina Poon

I have been in gymnastics for over a decade of my life, most of which was recreational through community programs. Two years ago, I started competing in high school gymnastics. Because Hamber doesn’t have appropriate training facilities or coaches, I train outside of school with athletes from other schools, and we each represent our respective schools at competitions.

BC School Sports (BCSS) has raised a motion to remove gymnastics as a high school sport, citing operational costs and relatively small numbers of participating athletes. One line of reasoning is that gymnastics has become more of a community-based sport, rather than a school-based sport. 

One of the most valuable lessons I’ve gained through gymnastics is valuing and appreciating my own achievements. I’ve never been a naturally talented athlete, and my experiences with past sports were often negative because of the competitive pressure. I used to struggle with a lot of comparison and self-esteem issues in sports, and I stopped playing any sports for some time because of it.

The supportive team I found in gymnastics helped me with that. We’re all at different levels and have different goals, but we cheer each other on, encourage each other through disappointments, and celebrate our successes. This has been one of the most compassionate and rewarding communities I’ve been a part of. 

This past year, I was the captain for the team I trained with. I also injured myself mid-season and was unable to compete at zone championships, and therefore couldn’t qualify for provincial championships. Despite this, I was still there to cheer on my teammates. 

85 per cent of BC high school gymnasts identify as female, according to a report by the BC School Sports Gymnastics Sport Advisory Committee. A 2020 study by Canadian Women and Sport found that one in three girls drop out of sports by their late teens, compared to one in ten boys. 

Physical activity is associated with better physical, mental, and emotional health. Our school system should be doing the utmost to promote equality and well-being for all its students. There is a duty of care owed to us as students for school-based systems to promote higher participation in beneficial activities, especially for marginalized and underrepresented groups. Ultimately, it is an equality issue when majority-female sports are not supported and not recognized as valuable by an organization that is meant to be supporting us. 

The motion claims that the sport will be able to continue in the community, even if it is not a school sport. The idea that this is feasible and possible for all athletes is a privileged viewpoint. For many students, sports are most accessible through schools. Community-based training and competitions can be a lot more expensive, and it’s unfair to assume students will still be able to participate without the support of schools. 

All sports, not just gymnastics, have some sort of operational cost associated with them. Does that stop us from having volleyball, basketball, or soccer teams? Of course not. Sports are an opportunity and a service to students that our educational system provides for us. We must understand that activities enrich students’ experiences and participation in them is invaluable. It’s inequitable to not provide equal opportunity and access to all sports for students.  

One final point that I find critical is that the school system recognizes women’s gymnastics and men’s gymnastics as distinctive sports, and not simply segregated by gender. Each involves different events as well as a different code and scoring system. What this means is that in school competitions, boys can compete in girls’ gymnastics and girls can compete in boys’ gymnastics. This isn’t necessarily possible in community based competitions. I have teammates who choose to compete in the opposite gender’s gymnastics despite not identifying as such because that sport is more enjoyable, enriching, and suitable for them. Again, this is an opportunity that allows greater access and equity that may be lost should the motion pass. 

BCSS Legislative Assembly Members will vote on the motion at the Annual General Meeting held May 12-13.